I believe that
you do not have to breed different types of Dorpers for different conditions.
If your type of dorper is right, you should be getting better reproduction
as the environment the sheep finds itself in improves.

With this in mind
we strive to breed adaptable Dorpers who have the ability to
reproduce under natural conditions when the going gets tough. This is
also a later maturing sheep, which only makes sense to me, as this type of sheep
has the ability to keep on growing when conditions are tough.
These sheep also has the ability to have a lamb ready for market under
less favourable conditions.

Whereas early
maturing sheep (short legged) needs to have an excellent environment for the
first two months after birth in order to reach a good slaughter weight or a good
mature weight. This can be costly when it is dry.

At West Front we
prefer the more rangy type, not long legged, we prefer to call them stretched.
These stretched sheep have the ability to explode under good conditions
and also keep on growing under less favourable conditions.

The most
important selection criteria is fertility and the ability to raise a lamb. Second
to reproduction is function. Good sound structured legs and good muscling in
the top line is what our selection is based on. We also run our stud animals the
same way as we run our commercial flock.

This is why our
sheep do well where ever they go and that is why you cannot afford not having
West Front Genetics.